Strange Story

It appears that Gene Hackman’s wife died of a disease transmitted from rodents.

Days later, Hackman passed away from heart disease and his final days, as his wife was dead on the floor was likely spent in confusion as he had Alzheimer’s as well.

That’s a little strange, right?

I don’t know exactly why it captured so much of my attention, but it kind of blows my mind that someone so famous could die in such a manner.

It always calls to mind the most powerful scene in ‘The Sopranos’ when Uncle Junior is in the nursing home home and Tony just can’t grasp his beloved Uncle’s mental state.

“You were the boss of New Jersey!”

And Junior says:

“Oh, that must have been nice.”

I think of that because as I get older I think about all the crazy work that I’ve done through the years.

I can imagine a day not so far off in the future when I am sitting back thinking about all the construction sites I have visited. 

Every day.

Every week.

Every month for a whole lot of years.

“That must have been nice.”

Gene Hackman was at the top of his profession.

He retired early this century and by all accounts it appears he was content and happy in his later years.

We will all suffer that fate…

…somehow…

…some way.

I’d rather not lie where I fell a week or more before, and that calls to mind a discussion I had with Kathy early on in the marriage.

“I’d rather not be found naked on the toilet, like Elvis,” I said.

“Well,” Kathy said, “No matter how it happens, I’m going to make sure that you’re naked when you’re discovered.”

“Why?” I asked.

“Because you’re afraid of it, and it will be one final joke to play on you.”

So, I got that going for me.

Dying of a virus that is transmitted through rodent droppings?

Yeah.

That’s no good either.